Testudo Times

Maryland-Duke Lacrosse Final Four GameThread

2012-05-26T19:55:54Z

The ladies fell to the odious Northwestern Wildcats last night, unfortunately. Hopefully the men don't suffer the same fate, facing the equally odious Duke Blue Devils. The ball drops at 5:00 on ESPN2.

Wish I had more to say, but I'm not exactly a lax mastermind here. Regardless: duck fuke, all that. Spew your anti-Blue vitriol below.

Profiles In Terpage - A Countdown to the Football Season: Eric Franklin

2012-05-26T17:26:17Z

via tucsoncitizen.com

A recurring series where we will profile every player on Maryland's roster, counting down to kick-off against William & Mary on September 1. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.

Today we profile Maryland's starting free safety.

Eric Franklin, Senior, Safety, #48

via grfx.cstv.com

Stats:

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 215

Major: Kinesiology

Twitter: @MrFranklin48

Collegiate Stats: 133 tackles (58 assisted), six and a half for a loss, one sack, one fumble recovery, four passes broken up, three interceptions, one blocked field goal

High School Stats (Senior Year): Around 80 tackles, seven interceptions, nine pass breakups, 13 catches for 257 yards and three touchdowns

Recruiting Ratings: Two stars by Rivals, Scout (#113 safety), ESPN (#136 safety)

High School: Archbishop Curley

Hometown: Baltimore, Md.

High School Highlights:

Nothing we could find.

How'd He Get to College Park?

The similarities in the backgrounds of Franklin and co-starting safety Matt Robinson are uncanny. Both were safeties/tight ends who also played linebacker and were ranked extremely unfavorably by all of the recruiting sites. As soon as they got on campus, however, they impressed the coaches, played in their first year on campus, and are now the starting safeties for Maryland.

Franklin was a straight-A student and defensive captain at Curley, and even was the team's defensive coordinator in a game during his senior year against Archbishop Spalding because the regular defensive coordinator, assistant coach Warren Schwartz, was unable to attend the game.

Franklin was named to multiple all-star teams in 2008 - small school all-state, first team All-Baltimore City, second team All-Met by the Sun, first team All-MIAA (B-Conference), and Academic All-State.

During his freshman campaign, the first of Maryland's two 2-10 seasons, Franklin played in the last five games of the season, burning his redshirt. As a sophomore, he played in eleven games, starting two, and picked off three passes - all of which came in the last four games of the year.

As a junior last season, the hope was for Franklin to start along side Robinson in a standard free safety-strong safety duo, with Franklin picking up interceptions and Robinson getting the tackles. But after Robinson's injury, youngsters Titus Till and A.J. Hendy ending up starting at the other safety spot, forcing Franklin to gain a larger focus on tackling.

As a result, Franklin ended up second on the team with 106 tackles, with four and a half for a loss, and had six double-digit tackle games, including 15 against West Virginia.

Nickname:

Eric Franklin "the Turtle"

Career Highlight:

His fifteen tackles against West Virginia

Career Lowlight:

Everything else that happened with Maryland's defense against West Virginia

Dream Season:

Franklin re-establishes his rapport with Robinson, posting at least 70 tackles with five interceptions.

Nightmare Season:

Robinson gets hurt again, and Franklin essentially plays as a one-man safety crew again.

2012 Prospectus:

Eric Franklin is coming off a 2011 campaign that was perhaps stronger statistically than it was in reality, through no fault of his own. When Robinson got hurt, Franklin's role was expanded beyond what any safety should have to do - and his normally strong coverage skills suffered as a result.

This year, Robinson is back, but the depth behind him is even more depleted if injury happens to strike again. Till has left for James Madison, and Hendy has moved to cornerback (although the smart money is on him still playing some safety this year). What's left is walk-on Clarence Claiborne, redshirt freshmen Undray Clark, and a few incoming freshmen who would probably be best-suited redshirting.

In an ideal world, Franklin and Robinson will be able to play throughout the season, leaving safety as a position without concern for Maryland's defense. Robinson's got the strength and size, Franklin has the coverage skills and experience. We'll have to see what happens, but both of them have done well on the collegiate level so far and have skills that complement each other nearly perfectly.

Up Next:

Our next player is a true freshman who recently switched from wide receiver to defensive back.

On preferred walk-on guard Conner Lipinski's scholarship

2012-05-26T00:37:54Z

On preferred walk-on guard Conner Lipinski's scholarship

Over the past day or two, many - primarily IMS and Terps Insider - have reported that Conner Lipinski, a 2012 preferred walk-on guard from AACS, was being put on scholarship. It was a bit puzzling - after all, if you can get someone you like as a walk-on, why use a scholarship? Here's some helpful non-paywall'd clarification from the Capital Gazette.

It made all the sense in the world to put him on scholarship for next season - Maryland had a free one, so might as well make use of it and do something nice. And apparently there may've been some compliance issues that were smoothed over by getting him on scholarship, which makes this make even more sense. The thing I still don't get, though: it's supposedly a two-year scholarship. That's apparently a thing now, but I'm not sure why Maryland would go out of their way to offer it with a scholarship crunch already in place in the '13 class. Could it be two "years" in academic terms - ie, semesters? Or maybe Turgeon just really likes him. Hopefully this'll get cleared up over the next few days.

Profiles In Terpage - A Countdown to the Football Season: Dexter McDougle

2012-05-25T19:37:26Z

A recurring series where we will profile every player on Maryland's roster, counting down to kick-off against William & Mary on September 1. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.

Today we profile Maryland's top cornerback.

Dexter McDougle, Junior (RS), Cornerback, #25

via grfx.cstv.com

Stats:

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 190

Major: Criminal Justice

Twitter: @Blasian_Kiddd

Collegiate Stats: 66 tackles (23 assisted), two and a half for a loss, one fumble forced, one fumble recovered for a touchdown, nine pass break ups, three interceptions, five kickoff returns for 71 yards

High School Stats (Senior Year): 97 tackles, six interceptions, 48 receptions for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns, 76 carries for 457 yards and nine touchdowns, three returns (two kickoff, one punt) for touchdowns

Recruiting Ratings: Three stars by Rivals (#76 ATH), Scout (#63 S), ESPN (#28 ATH)

High School: Stafford

Hometown: Falmouth, Va.

High School Highlights:

How'd He Get to College Park?

Alright, so the most impressive senior high school campaign for any Terp secondary player goes to Dexter McDougle in a landslide. I mean, those stats...that's just incredible. McDougle was teammates with Torrey Smith for two years in high school, and was the definition of a late bloomer in the recruiting process. He broke two of his knuckles in a freak injury during practice as a junior, missing a good portion of the year and entering his senior campaign as a relatively unknown prospect. Halfway through his incredible senior season, McDougle's coach sent out a hastily made highlight tape to some major schools, and Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia Tech responded with scholarship offers.

McDougle redshirted his first season, although he almost played - he was on the travel squad for every road trip for the year. As a redshirt freshman, he played in eleven games as a reserve corner, before breaking his collarbone in a scooter accident, finishing the season with 22 tackles, including six against Navy.

Last season, McDougle actually started all twelve games at cornerback. Cameron Chism and Trenton Hughes were thought of as the two starting corners for the Terps last year, but McDougle was the only one to start every game at the position (Chism started nine, Hughes started three). He led the team with six pass breakups and tied for the lead with three interceptions, and was an Academic All-ACC selection.

Nickname:

"McDougie"

Career Highlight:

The fumble recovered for a touchdown against NC State.

Career Lowlight:

Breaking his collarbone.

Dream Season:

McDougle expands on his playmaking abilities from last year, causing at least six turnovers.

Nightmare Season:

McDougle doesn't get rid of the lapses that haunted him at times last season, giving up some big plays.

2012 Prospectus:

Dexter McDougle's job as the number one cornerback for Maryland is pretty safe - there's a competition for one of the starting corner jobs, but it's not for his. He's shown loads of potential in his time at Maryland, and is a prototypical playmaker at the corner spot.

Where he's run into problems is on the deep ball - he's normally pretty solid in coverage but there were times last year where McDougle got beat deep. He did play as a freshman, but last year was by far the most time he spent on the field, so it's probable that those were growing pains that will be gone this season.

Looking at his high school tape and his production level everywhere he's played, it's not hard to believe Dexter McDougle has the tools necessary to be the anchor this secondary desperately needs. He's proven himself as a playmaker, now it's time to see if he can be a shut-down corner as well.

And yes, he is another likely option at the return spots - actually, one of the more likely ones. McDougle has returned kicks with Maryland before (with not much success, unfortunately), but my money's on him, Justus Pickett or Jeremiah Johnson.

Up Next:

Our next player was second on the team and sixth in the ACC in tackles.

Maryland Minute 5.24.12: Terps Gearing Up for Big Lacrosse Weekend

2012-05-25T03:01:41Z

Kessenich: What We Learned During the NCAA Quarterfinals
I'm annoyed by Quint just as much as you are, but I wanted to highlight this:

Coach John Tillman devised a tremendous game-plan. Maryland did attack quickly on a few occasions, scoring before the Hopkins defense was set-up. The dozen or so stalling calls will lead to criticism from fans but providing a viewer-friendly product isn't his job description. Maryland has learned to finish games. They have developed a keen sense of identity and will bring emotional effort.

Like I said last week: Tillman is turning into a tournament coach. And I mean that in a good way. Maryland, being Maryland, will very nearly always be in the postseason anyway. And if he can be our Tom Izzo, well then by Juan I'm happy.

And so they meet again: Washington Examiner on Maryland-Northwestern rivalry...
In women's lacrosse, not in blogs. The Lady Terps will meet Northwestern for the third straight year in the postseason, in what is (I assume) turning into the game' premier rivalry, if it isn't already. (Again, could be totally wrong there.) Game's on ESPN3 on Friday at 8:00. Just don't go troll Sippin' on Purple this time, eh?

MLax: Five Terps Earn USILA All-America Honors
Jesse Bernhardt leads the way with a second-team selection. Joe Cummings, John Haus, Niko Amato, and Goran Murray all made honorable mention. Meanwhile: four Terps on the ladies' side made first-team, with another two second-teamers.

What if Paul Finebaum did a Lacrosse Radio Show - College Crosse
Heh. I'm in a lax state of mind and the concept is great, so I'm linking it.

Other, non-lacrosse sports post-jump, including some absolutely devastating news:

Arnold Richmond transferring to Shaw University
Young Kobe is gone. Just like that.

Damn.

In practical terms, losing a walk-on guard isn't a big deal. But man, he was the walk-on guard, probably my favorite walk-on since ... Gini Chukura, maybe? This hurts. This hurts big.

Connor Lipinski, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you. You better stand next to a really tall guy humorously and have a nickname incorporating an NBA star. (Young D-Wade? Screw it, we're calling him Young D-Wade.)

ESPN releases new basketball rankings
Of note:

#3 - Andrew Harrison
#8 - Aaron Harrison
#24 - Jermaine Lawrence
#37 - Rysheed Jordan
#45 - Kris Jenkins
#69 - Kameron Williams
#77 - Rashawn Powell

Jordan's a bit low, but other than that no real complaints. Interesting to see Pookie that high.

Most important game: Maryland - ACC Blog - ESPN
Heather Dinich thinks Maryland's most important game is against Temple. I think I might agree. - Dave

Me: Never quite understood the "Most Important Game" thing that Dinich has going every year. Sure, Temple's the most important game if Maryland loses, because then Maryland will be awful again and the season won't matter. But if they win, suddenly the UConn game is crucial and easily more important, because beating Temple doesn't tell us that much. And I could go on for another 50 potential scenarios, or so. Just like how Miami was a program-changer ... until they got throttled in Byrd a few times. That said, if I had to pick out a game several months beforehand, yeah, it'd probably be that one.

Latest baseball bracketology: Maryland still just barely out
Not making the ACC Tournament might come back to hurt in a big way. That said: when was the last time Maryland baseball was mentioned in the same sentence as LSU? If I could "suffer the same fate" as LSU as an entire program, well, I'd suffer that.

(And as a side note, I know I'm supposed to care about the integrity of the process, but ... well, hopefully the NCAA has a little devil on its shoulder reminding it of how giving the spot to Maryland, as an up-and-coming program on the brink of true relevance, would change their fortunes as a program much more drastically than, I don't know, Vanderbilt or Tulane. I imagine college baseball isn't popular enough to be just fine with dead programs like Maryland circa 2007 littering the landscape.)

Maryland athletics partners with Maroon PR - The Sun
I have no real idea what this is about, and if someone with knowledge of the industry finds it interesting, feel free to share. But the final line caught my eye:

Maroon will help with media placement, branding, and coaches' media training.

Thank God someone finally did something. We're looking at you, Randy.

Profiles In Terpage - A Countdown to the Football Season: Matt Robinson

2012-05-25T00:40:35Z

A recurring series where we will profile every player on Maryland's roster, counting down to kick-off against William & Mary on September 1. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.

Today we profile Maryland's starting strong safety.

Matt Robinson, Sophomore (RS), Safety, #40

via grfx.cstv.com

Stats:

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 225

Major: Criminal Justice

Twitter: @MattyRob40

Collegiate Stats: 65 tackles (23 assisted), two for a loss, two fumbles forced, two pass breakups

High School Stats (Senior Year): 75 tackles, four sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, one blocked punt, 39 catches for 792 yards and ten touchdowns

Recruiting Ratings: Three stars by Rivals, ESPN (#151 athlete), two stars by Scout (#60 tight end)

High School: Atholton

Hometown: Columbia, Md.

High School Highlights:

How'd He Get to College Park?

Robinson was very much an under-the-radar prospect coming out of Atholton, where he played for former Terp lineman Kyle Schmitt and assisted in a seven-win turnaround in the new coach's first season with the Raiders. He was a star football and basketball player at Atholton - he made all-county teams in both sports - and was named first team all-Met by the Sun and the Post, was a consensus all-state selection, and was named the Howard County Times defensive player of the year.

Maryland was the only FBS school to offer Robinson a scholarship, although Boston College, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Pittsburgh all expressed interest.

As a true freshman, Robinson was an unlikely contributor - coming from a low-profile recruiting background to play in all 13 games, starting in one. He was second among reserve players with 29 tackles, and forced two fumbles on the year, setting him up for a promising sophomore campaign.

Robinson's sophomore year started out pretty well, with ten tackles against Miami and 13 apiece against West Virginia and Temple. A shoulder injury then sidelined him for the rest of the season, but he was able to secure a medical redshirt. In those three games, Robinson was able to continue to showcase his playmaking skills - he forced two more fumbles.

If the high school (Atholton) sounds familiar to you for non-Robinson reasons, you're either a Nationals fan or just know a lot about former Terp walk-ons. National utility guy Steve Lombardozzi and former Maryland defensive back Kalvin Seamonson (who left the program with his dad, Al) both went to Atholton.

Nickname:

Matt "Matty Boh" Robinson

Career Highlight:

The 13 tackle games against West Virginia and Temple.

Career Lowlight:

The shoulder injury that cost him the rest of the season.

Dream Season:

Robinson comes back strong, ranking in the top three on the team in tackles and forcing at least five turnovers.

Nightmare Season:

Robinson struggles to regain his old form, as the shoulder still bothers him and he can't lay down as forceful of a hit as he used to.

2012 Prospectus:

Assuming he's healthy, Matt Robinson is the automatic starter at strong safety for the Terps. He's big, he's very strong, and he hits harder than any secondary player on the team. Despite Maryland's secondary struggles last season, he and Franklin form a pretty solid safety duo - a younger guy who hits extremely hard and compiles tackles with an older guy who is good in coverage and gets interceptions.

The obvious concern is the shoulder injury. It was a serious one that sidelined Robinson for months, and we honestly can't know if he'll hit the same way he used to until the first game of the season.

Behind Robinson on the spring depth chart is A.J. Hendy, but he's moving to cornerback. It's likely that if anything happens to Robinson, Hendy will still take over as the starter, but in a situation where Robinson might need a quick break and Maryland needs multiple corners, walk-on Clarence Claiborne is likely the guy to back him up at strong safety.

Robinson is a talented player and local kid who seemingly came out of nowhere to become one of the best players on Maryland's defense. A lot will depend on his shoulder, but if he's healthy, the Terps' secondary suddenly looks a whole lot better.

Up Next:

Our next player went to the same high school as Torrey Smith.

"[The timetable is] around [fall]," Aaron Harrison Sr. told SNY.tv Thursday, confirming comments he...

2012-05-24T19:22:38Z

"[The timetable is] around [fall]," Aaron Harrison Sr. told SNY.tv Thursday, confirming comments he made to the Kentucky Rivals site. "Their birthday is Oct. 28. They want to get it done before the high school season starts."

The twins are down to four final schools, Maryland, Baylor, Kentucky and Villanova and Aaron Sr. said they would visit three or four of them this summer.

"We’re going to visit Villanova and that’s going to be the first week of July," Aaron Sr. said. "And then Maryland will be that same week.

Via Zags

First week of July. Circle it on your calendar. All of it. Paint a rock. Print posters. Make 'em feel the love.

Thing is, I can't imagine the visits will mean too much to them. They usually don't to one-and-dones, especially in really controlled recruitments like this one. But hey, go all out. After all, you don't want to look back and feel you could've done more.

Another Basketball Scheduling Piece Falls Into Place: Terps to Meet George Mason in BB&T Classic

2012-05-23T22:00:43Z

So, Maryland's opponent in the BB&T Classic this time around? The George Mason Patriots, per the Post's Steven Goff. Color me ... underwhelmed.

I know I should probably love it as a D.C. hoops fans, and maybe all the D.C. hoops neutrals actually are delighed. (The two haven't met since 2004, back when the BB&T was an actual tournament, but that was before Mason's ascendence.) But I just don't see the upshot from Maryland's side. A win over Mason, established as a credible mid-major though they may be, isn't going to be a resumé victory. And a loss would be at least a little embarrassing, especially if Maryland harbors any hopes of the bubble next season. I guess it's nice that they won't be giving away a home game by having to take a return trip to GMU - at least I hope to God not - but part of me would still rather much prefer, I don't know, UConn.

Mason, if you're wondering, went 24-9 last year, but missed out on the NCAAs and the NIT. They'll lose their best player, Ryan Pearson, and starting center Mike Morrison to graduation, though they do return three starters. That's a good base to build upon, but I'm not sold they'll be better than they were last year. Then again, I'm not yet sold (by which I mean 100% certain) that Maryland will be better than they were last year, so again, maybe this is a better match than we'd like to admit.

Anyway, I'm about to ramble, probably incoherently: the Classic is an attractive event for Maryland for two possible reasons: as an entertaining, Atlantic 11-themed collection of DC-area basketball programs, or as a way to entice big programs into a home-and-kinda-home. The former, which appears to be this year's theme, is really only useful if you can get Georgetown into the picture, and that simply isn't happening. Otherwise, it's just a way for Mason or GW to get games with Maryland on a neutral floor. That's nice, but it doesn't really move the needle for me (or, I imagine, Maryland).

To be frank, I don't like the second option much, either, not really. I'd certainly hope that as Maryland returns to prominence they can get a home-and-home going with another big school without having to spot them a neutral floor, perhaps using Kansas as a starting place with the Turgeon connection. The return trip for a "home" game in Verizon is irksome.

If College Park administrators do in fact look to do that, though, this - Maryland against a local mid-major - might be the only way forward for the BB&T. That's not a terribly attractive proposition from Maryland's perspective, if we're being honest. It might not be a deal-breaker, and it's probably not the worst thing in the world - after all, there are quite a few good local mid-majors - but it's a bit sad to see it fall to that.

Anyway, George Mason joins Northwestern, Kentucky, probably Notre Dame, and I think Long Island, Morehead St., and Lafayette (the other participants in the Barclay's Classic) as the non-conference opponents we know of. Not an awful slate; Morehead is actually good, Kentucky is Kentucky, and there's no shame in NW or ND. But it'll be interesting to see if that satisfies Mark Turgeon's "four good teams a year" threshold.